A furious wildfire torching through the mountains of southern New Mexico's Gila National Forest has grown to 125 square miles and is expected to keep expanding.
Fire officials said late Monday that the Silver Fire continued to burn to the north and west as crews battled the raging blaze amid dry and breezy conditions.
Officials say the fire remains 20 percent contained, mainly in the south toward the bottom of the inferno.
Meanwhile, Gila National Forest officials said that other parts of the park would remain open for the July 4th holiday.
While the Silver Fire burns in the Black Range Mountains and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness on the southeastern part of the forest, the remainder of the 3.3 million acres of forest land would be open to the public.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.